12 December 2008

Eze Village - the Jardin Exotique: the Castle Ruins

Only two small areas of an imposing castle built on top of the rock of Eze now remain. Built in the second part of the XIIth century by the family of Eze. It belonged to Provence and the fortress was guarded by the Castellans.

In 1706, during the war of succession of Spain, Louis the XIV ordered the destruction of the castle on the recommendations of the Minister for the war : " Sir, the King having seen the strategic situation of the castle, between Villefranche and Monaco, His Majesty the King gave me the order to destroy this castle, in order to be able to preserve this communication ".

What you see in these two photographs is all that remains.

The history of Eze though, goes back much further as fragments have been found proving that Eze was inhabited as far back as the Iron Age.